


Pond

by floweytheking



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Angst, Death, Historical AU, M/M, Romance, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 11:07:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11713140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floweytheking/pseuds/floweytheking
Summary: Au when there is a legend that there is a pond that shows what you most need in life





	Pond

Minghao could not believe his own behaviour as he looked at all the villagers he had worked so hard to protect, laughing and dancing to the night, this was to be the perfect night... but instead of joy he felt sorrow that penetrated his heart.

There was a good atmosphere going on for everyone and as he watched people happy he thought to himself why he was not happy himself?

Lies

Minghao knew the truth deep inside him but he kicked those thoughts aside, he had always lost his men and felt bad but why did losing a single man make him feel the worst he had felt in his entire life?

As he looked at the food laid around him, he looked to both his sides and found his men all eating happily. He stared at the delicious looking food in front of him which he would been definitely excited for previously but looking it at now made him feel physically ill.

It did not help that the wine that had been brewed for over 50 years was red, like his blood. As he watched it move slowly due the table’s vibration, he stood up abruptly which made people stop but he simply smiled and said

“ I have to go to the toilet “

As soon as he said that the villagers and lower ranked soldiers continued to party on while his fellow leaders looked at him in concern, Feeling all their gazes, he felt his eyes burn and left quickly so they hopefully would not follow him.

A few members made a movement to stand up, but Seungcheol quickly said

“ Leave him “

They looked at him in shock as he took a sip of his wine and after finishing said

“ He needs this “

Nodding, they hesitantly sat back down while Seungcheol looked at the street corner Minghao had run to with a soft expression and looked back at the empty chair next to Wonwoo knowing he must have been torn.

He ran away as far as he could from the party and was glad that they were not trying to talk or follow him. He felt his tears threatening to come out and quickly wiped it away before he could let the tears drip down on his face.

He was just walking in the empty town square wanting to get his mind out of his pain and without him noticing his walk turned into a jog then a full blown run as if he could not control his legs.

He was running, out the gate, out of everyone’s sights and into the empty field with nothing in it. He did not know why he was even running, there was no pressure, there was no time limit, but all he knew was that he was doing it and he couldn’t stop the adrenaline in him. As he ran he couldn’t help but remember him.

His mind was slushed with thoughts running and there but he could remember the memories in broken pieces, their first time meeting, their first time stealing food, the first time he beat him in a sparring match, even the first assignment they did together when Minghao covered for him.

There were so many firsts, he never thought that some of them would end up being their last though.

The memories were getting pieced together and he remembered everything , when Minghao protected him from bullies in the orphanage, when they stole bread to give their sick friend only to get caught and punished. Of course the first time he beat him and unfortunately not the first time he took the fall for him… but it did not matter to him

He just wanted him happy

Was that too much to ask?

As he remembered all their memories he felt the tears he had been controlling drip down and yells were heard as he couldn’t help but scream in agony as he ran through nothing. Was he perhaps releasing his frustration? Was he mad at himself? Or was he mad at him? He did not know but he did know he had lost a part of him in the war, a part that was irreplaceable. 

As he continued to run whilst yelling he did not and could not look properly in the darkness and felt his world spin and fall after tripping over. Was it a rock? Was it his own feet? He did not know but as he fell to the ground, he tried to pick himself up and suddenly it was the past all over again for him

 

Going into the tent, everyone was already assembled and discussing plans and he was intending to join but instead, Minghao found himself going to the other leader who was just listening carefully in the corner.

Tapping his shoulder, the man jumped and Minghao couldn’t help but look amused which just made the taller male blush and grin at him, calling him out for surprising him.

As they two talked, Minghao could not remember the words that were exchanged for he was staring at the handsome man. His dark hair was gelled back and with haughty sharp looks, Minghao felt him being entranced to his lips.

They looked so soft and pink and as he looked past his lips, he saw his perfect teeth and felt his heart skip a beat as he started to laugh at a joke he made himself, teeth shining and shoulders shaking,

Minghao smiled a bit and before he could go on with the joke he was saying, the other men started to leave. Not wanting to look weird by staying for no reason, he turned to leave with the others after saying his goodbyes with him, but Minghao felt the manhold his wrist.

He turned and raised his eyebrow at him waiting for an explanation and the man bit his lip as if he was having difficulty saying what he wanted to say. He mouth moved to say something, but he was quickly cut off by a random woman.

“ Come on Minghao you promised me dinner ~ “

With that, she turned away and walked out giggling. As he thought about her, he could not even remember his name at this point, was it perhaps Kai? Jiro? Ji-Yeon? But as she left, Minghao turned back to see him, letting go of his wrist. 

Quietly he said

“ You shouldn’t keep your lady waiting “

Minghao would have gladly spent more time with him other than that bimbo, but seeing his blank expression meant that he had wanted to be alone. Nodding to him, he told him not to stay up and left, unknowingly leaving him alone in the tent, cold and empty.

 

He slowly picked himself up as he felt his rough skin rub against the dirt on the ground, he had the taste of dirt and blood in his mouth, but he did not feel anything and stood up.

He felt a sharp pain in his ankle, but he did not care as he had dealt with worse pain. He finally stood up fully and found himself running again as if he wanted to not be too late to something that had already happened.

He was running without direction and it was pitch black dark, the stars having lost its glimmer could no longer help him in this dark world anymore.

The one person who could bring the light back and was his main support was gone.

 

It was a cold dark night in the barracks, everyone had fallen asleep tired from training, but he could not find himself able to sleep as he thought of Minghao. Too scared to speak up, he let him take the blame and stayed silent.

As ashamed as he was, he found himself relieved that he was not the one caught for the blunder. Along with shame he felt guilt as he wondered if Minghao was still running in the darkness

He was told to run until the leader deemed him worthy of stopping, but Minghao had not come back yet and he had sworn he saw the leader going to his quarters to sleep. Feeling the guilt in him well up, he got teary and before he could let out a sob, he heard a familiar voice behind himself.

“ Why are you awake? “

He turned and saw Minghao looking down at his confused sitting form, seeing him though, the man stood up quickly and hugged his shorter form whilst sobbing and saying sorry again and again. 

Minghao understanding his sudden tears just now seemed to have forgotten his sensitivity, pushed himself off him slightly so that he was still hugging Minghao but they could make eye contact

“ Yah why are you upset “

Wiping his tears off his face just made him cry even more and he held Minghao tightly, resting his head on the crook of his neck. Minghao slowly started to stroke his back.

He knew that this calmed him down and so did petting the back of his head, he continued his actions until he felt him calming down. His tears made his neck wet but he did not care, he was more important

Letting go but still holding hands, they both sat down on the floor while the man was still sniffling with puffy red eyes, before he could continue on apologizing Minghao said

“ You don’t need to apologize “

“ B-but i- left you “

“ It does not matter “

“ B-b-but I did not speak u-- “

“ it’s okay “

The tall man went silent for a bit and then said

“ Y-You al-always helped me but-- “

“ Are you telling me you don’t think you help me? “

Nodding, Minghao hardened his expression and said

“ If it were just me I would not have been here, I would be in the orphanage forever and ever “

He looked surprised and seeing his expression, Minghao snorted a bit.

“ What do you think I originally wanted to join the army? No, I had no interest in war and wanted to an orphanage helper. “

That had made him definitely shut up and before he could respond, Minghao shushed him and said

“ Listen to me “

He stared at Minghao’s warm chocolate colored eyes and felt himself relaxing and continued to listen

“ I joined to take care of you, you may be physically adept but you are not the most social person out there “

That made him blush a bit but he did not speak so Minghao went on

“ So I joined the Army to take care of you and I can tell you I do not regret it at all. This is the most fun I have had in my life, meeting new people who just want to help like me, different people with different views… in the orphanage, it was just bland with the same case of quiet lonely kids. I thought this was all of life until you came in and… “

About to say something embarrassing, he managed to stop himself and cleared his throat with a blush .

“ You helped me realize there are different beauties in life, such as the stars bright twinkle, the beauty of the flowers when it lives then dies and of course the clearness of the water to show our reflection and freedom. “

He was speechless as he heard this he was ready to cry and question but Minghao quickly said

“ Wait “

Nodding to him, he was about to continue on until he wrapped his coat around his shorter form. Minghao was about to reject it but he said

“ I don’t want you to get a cold “

Blushing at his words, he cleared his throat and used the most composed voice he had and said

“ There are no princes in this world. There are no noble people out there, everyone has an ugly side “

“ But I betrayed you “

“ You just did what you wanted to do for once and it hurts, but it is nothing to be ashamed of “

With puffy red eyes, he looked at Minghao and with a nervous feeling he said

“ I love you “

That made Minghao freeze and gripped his hand tighter as if he would disappear if he would not hold on and with a softer expression he said

“ I love you too… more then you will ever know “

 

He felt his blood pumping through his veins as he ran, he was getting dehydrated fast and like the genius he was, he forgot to bring water. He had to turn to get water from the town and suddenly he saw a light behind him.

He turned back and saw a beautiful blue light that attracted him, walking to it slowly, he felt the tears had stopped and was glad. As he approache, the light got more vibrant and he saw something amazing

A pond

It was a pond in the middle of nowhere 

The light from the water was beautiful and clear, feeling his mind lose all common sense, he felt attracted to come closer. Coming closer, he could see the water perfectly and dipped his hand down slowly to test the temperature.

It was the perfect temperature for him

Desperate for water, he bent down and held as much of water his two hands could hold and drank it. Feeling it trickle down his throat just right, he felt better and when he could have gone back, he felt the attraction was too beautiful and he did not want to leave, so he sat near it.

As he thought of everything in his life he suddenly remembered the moment of anger he had with Wonwoo.

 

“ There is a pond “

Minghao looked at his face in shock and confusion, then said

“ So there is a pond??? How is this going to help me with strategic planning for our test “

Wonwoo ignored him and continued on

“ It shows the truth of what you need in life “

Minghao getting irritated at him said

“ Wonwoo this won’t hel-- “

“ It only answers in riddles and will only come when you need it “

Finally mad he yelled 

“ Wonwoo how is this going to help “

Wonwoo went silent and said

“ My grandmother used to say that when I was nervous “

“ What? Bedtime stories of Legends that aren’t real? “

Pulling a nerve in him, Wonwoo coldly said.

“ You would never understand you’re too narrow-minded “

Taking immense offense in that, He was ready to fight but Wonwoo had already left the tent and they both failed that test.

 

He doubted it but he was desperate… he definitely needed guidance and there was no harm in trying right?

Coming close to the pond he looked into the water and saw his reflection, that was it, nothing special. Annoyed at himself for believing Legends he was about to look away until he saw the reflection change.

Widening his eyes, he looked closely and saw bright stars, he looked up and saw that the sky was still dark and gloomy for him. Looking down was different, he saw beauty, the light had come back to the stars and it was beautiful. As he looked down he remembered his eyes, the eyes that held the stars and maps to heaven.

Realizing what he had just thought of he remembered Wonwoo’s words

 

“ It only answers in riddles and will only come when you need it “

 

He was silent, there was no sound from him until he started to giggle a bit, his shoulders shaking and he burst out laughing, laughing hysterically. This was the most he had ever laughed in his life and was crying badly.

Slowly the laughter broke into sobs and he found himself screaming while crying, the sound was more horrific and the tears were dripping down continuously from his eyes as he had to remind himself.

He was gone

The thing he needed the most in life was gone

The man who had colored his world was no more

And all he could do was cry

Because Mingyu was never coming back


End file.
